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- from "The Kingston Gleaner", 14 Jan 1941
CLARMONT, January 9 - Mr. R.F. Perkins died recently in the St. Ann's Bay hospital after he had undergone an operation. Funeral services were conducted by Rev. E.B. Pike in St. Matthews Anglican Church after which the cortege left for Ogle, where interment took place. The large gathering which attended the funeral was testimony of the esteem in which the deceased was held
- From Newspaper Obituary (Lily Perkins Papers)
PERKINS, - Robert Francis. - of Claremont, St. Anns. Died on 30th November, 1940. Interred on 1st December in Family Cemeteryat Ogle, Claremont.
- From HISTORY OF THE PARISH OF TRELAWNY by Daniel L. Ogilvie transcribed by http://jamaicanfamilysearch.com
DORNOCK WATER SUPPLY
If ever there was a successful Water Supply scheme that has justified the expenditure of Government funds, the Dornock ranks in priority. Not only in the colossal engineering achievement which has its second only in far away Australia, we understand, but its supreme utility. The natural elements have been harnessed to facilitate mankind in such a way that the skill applied coupled with the result, fills us with amazement. It was an impossible task to the layman. Many laughed and were looking for failure to have been justified in ?I told you so?. The Water Supply Law was enacted in 1889, giving powers to the Municipal Boards to establish Water Supplies and to levy rates, but for years it was a dead letter law. In 1896, upon pressure being brought on the Board by residents in the Duncans and contiguous Districts the Water Supply Law was for the first time implemented. On the advice of a Water Diviner a Well was dug in the Duncans Market land, the property of the Parish. The depth was around 200 feet and all the water that seeped in for a day was not enough to satisfy the needs of a child. £2,000 was expended on this fruitless scheme. The Central Government made a Grant of £1,000 and the Board?s Loan of £1,000 as paid off around the year 1900. The Well was made use of in 1937, as a Public Latrine Pit. The next application of the Law was in the year 1902, when the Falmouth Water Supply was taken over, an account of which is given above.
The inhabitants of these dry areas around Duncans were always agitating for a permanent and reliable water supply. From Duncans proper the distance to the ?Spring? which runs continuously is approximately four miles down hill ? and such a hill it is. The ordinary man advocated the construction of a large Tank, but is was argued against as the district suffers from seasonal drought and the Sugar Estates which wanted water would derive no benefit. Somewhere around 1912, Mr. Holmes, an Hydraulic Engineer was commissioned by the Central Government to advise on the establishment of a Water Supply to meet the needs of those Districts, the growth of which were being stunted for want of this amenity, especially Duncans and Clark?s Town. He when about his work submitted his plan and an Estimate for harnessing the Dornock River for the purpose. The matter was submitted to the Board but it was advised that the Parish could not finance such a project as if we remember correctly, £60,000 was the estimated cost. Time passed, but the Board was always urging and nagging Government to finalize the matter. To pave the way around the year 1919, on the advice of Mr. W. Fitz-Ritson, its capable Clerk, the Board passed a Resolution advocating the creating of a Fund by Government and allocating each year a few thousand Pounds to assist Parishes in establishing Public Water Supplies. The Government was so enamoured with the proposal that it caused the Resolution to be Gazetted. The suggestion was later approved by the Legislature and made Law. The Board was never weary in importuning Government over this Water Supply. We remember in the year 1919, when Governor Probyn made an official visit to the Parish and after the address was read, Mr. Joseph Stockhausen in a most passionate speech said to the Governor, ?Sir, we beg you, we beseech you ? for God sake give us water?. The earnestness in which Mr. Stockhausen delivered himself appeared to have touched the Governor. He remarked in his reply, I will do my best for you in this respect. The proposal was now receiving favourable consideration. Government was prepared to make the cost half Grant and half Loan, but it wanted to know how the Board would finance the Loan. Certain modifications were made to the Holmes scheme with a view to making it less costly to be covered by a moderate rating of the area to be served. The financial undertaking was peeled down to around £26,000, half of which would be the Board?s liability. The Collector of Taxes; roll was examined and after manipulations and careful calculations it was agreed that a 1/9d rate in the £10 on the value of properties in the area would cover Interest and Sinking Fund to service the Loan. This analysis was submitted to Government and the reply was ?a case had been made out? and the Director of Public Works would be requested to cooperate. The D.P.W. was fortunate in obtaining the services of Mr. R. F. Perkins who had made a special study in Hydraulics and who was a Consultant Engineer for the P.W.D. The Parish and particularly the area involved in the Dornock Water Supply operations owe a debt of gratitude to Mr. Perkins and if no other visible monument is erected to his memory, this Water Supply will always bear testimony to his worth and self sacrifice. We who know of his devotion to the task, his pride in the result of his labours are in a position to pay this tribute to one who by generations may be forgotten. The monetary price was but of secondary consideration in his untiring and independable efforts. He treated the operations of the Water Supply as if it were part of his flesh. He loved the work and found pleasure in it. We will at this point attempt to give a layman?s description of the topography and matters relating to the magnitude of the undertaking from its inception.
The Dornock River rises in the vicinity of Stewart Town nearly two miles to the east. (The Cinema Film ?A Daughter of the Gods? was projected at this spot some years ago). Its current is almost imperceptible at normal times but as it runs in a gorge to the sea at Rio Bueno it develops momentum. Before reaching the intake at the Works the water rolls over several Dams of rocks which may have centuries ago fallen from the precipitous cliffs. It was one of these Dams that our Engineer decided to improve and divert the water as his skill directed him. Before a start could be made work of a pioneering nature had to be tackled. Water must be raised to an elevation of nearly 900 feet within 3 miles. Road had to be built through the forest which abounds in cliffs and boulders. Time, skill and money had to be employed in making this dream a reality. The difficulty of the task could hardly be foreseen for an exact estimate to have been made of the cost. Cement had to be manhandled down this steep and winding tract, a track that had to be restored after each shower of rain. The contrivances and devices applied in the work of transportation of materials were indeed ingenious if they were even primitive. After the foundation was laid the removal of heavy machinery was undertaken. This was a job that called for the utmost care and foresight. Lives had to be protected and machinery also. Only one man received a slight injury when he fell over the ?Jazz bend?. No part of the machinery at any time suffered damage. Over 100 tons. The conduit of aqueduct runs for about 20 chains going in a westerly direction towards the works, creating a uniform current and a fall of approximately 12 feet. By the water power from this 3 foot square conduit falling on two over-shot Turbines the machinery is operated and this passes on to the Pumps. It is with some amount of hesitance that we trespass in a description of the fine art of Engineering of which subject we are not fully qualified in giving a faithful outline. We apologize for any offence to their susceptibles. Notwithstanding, we are allowed to say that after just 3 years of toil and sweat the constant prayers of the people concerned were answered and water was made to pump water to an elevation of 900 feet into a Reservoir with a capacity of 300,000 gallons. The Rising Main has a diameter of 8 inches and is of steel. Up to the year 1943, there were 38 miles of Main pipes serving an area of 30 square miles. The total cost in 1943 was £43,000, half of which the Central Government?s grant and the other half a loan to the Parish.
Owing to the severe drought in 1927, the inhabitants could not wait for the laying down of pipes to be completed, so they combined and induced Government to turn on the water prematurely on Good Friday in April 1927. This was what was said in the Gleaner of the 21st. April: ?At about 11 o?clock on Good Friday the hopes of many years to the residents at Duncans and the nearby Districts were realized when the turncock turned on the water from the Reservoir at the Dornock Scheme and residents who up to a few hours before had to go miles for water could receive same ad lib, at the Stand-pipes in the Town. The gravity of the situation was brought before the Government by a Resolution passed at a recent massed meeting held by the Rev. D. D. Parnther and sent to the Hon. Colonial Secretary. The Resolution was ably supported by the Trelawny Parochial Board and it is very gratifying to see that the Government has arranged temporary measures whereby the situation can be relieved pending the completion of the Scheme. It is understood that as soon as the tappings and meters for the large properties are erected, the Parochial Board will take over the Scheme. At present the Reservoir is filled by the P.W.D. staff twice a week at a cost of £6 per week which bill is being paid by the Parish Board. The inhabitants are therefore by this arrangement receiving water free as the Collection of Rates will not commence until the Works are taken over by the Board.?
It may be the outcome of sentiments (but we are British subjects, and this peculiar trait is quite in keeping with the Nation?s ideology) but we are constrained to feel that if no public monument is raised up to Mr. Perkins? memory, it would be fitting for photographs of him to be in the household of the people whose children may cherish his memory. Generations yet unborn will not know of the annual scourge of the so-called ?Vomiting Sickness? in these areas. They will not know that each year dozens of children died from this malady. They will never conjecture that the chief sources of their drinking water was cattle ponds. From the inauguration of the Dornock Water Supply the very name ?Vomiting Sickness?: is forgotten as is ?Yellow Fever?. We remember the lamentations in October, 1926, when Mr. Perkins in testing the Machinery was caught by the fly-wheel and thrown to the ground seriously injuring his hip and other parts of his body. To extricate himself from certain death, he had to tear his jacket. He had to seek medical aid and was laid up for months, but as soon as he could, he was back on the work in which he was so devoted. Many heartfelt prayers were said for the recover of Mr. Perkins especially by the people for whose benefit he had been working and it was a happy day when he was once more seen being driven by his self-sacrificing and devoted daughter, Miss Lily G. Perkins. So as to be of service to the public and be near to supervise this work of his, he accepted a reduced salary of £300, yet withal in the year 1941 the Parochial Board in its wisdom thought it advisable to relieve him of his position and placed the Superintendent of Roads & Works in charge.
Mr. Perkins died in 1942 at his home at Claremont in the Parish of St. Ann, much beloved by all.
Due to an extended service an additional Turbine was installed in 1943. The Revenue from this supply is ever inadequate to meet the annual charges which now runs into thousands of pounds, being met by the Taxes from the whole Parish. But the lives that have been saved and the comfort and happiness it has brought to hundreds of people in is sufficient justification for the expenditure. It is to be hoped that at no distant date the roadway from the Reservoir to the Works will be so improved as to facilitate visitors and students in Hydraulic Engineering. Since the above was written a driving road has been constructed at Bengal near Rio Bueno which goes almost to the Works. We understand that the river is being harnessed to produce electricity for lower Trelawny and also to pump water into the Reservoir.
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1864 - 1940 (76 years)
Robert Simmons Francis Perkins, b. 2 Apr 1840, Falmouth, Jamaica